Purdue backup cornerback learns lesson in preparation

Co-defensive coordinator Nick Holt looks ahead to facing Illinois and how the Boilermakers can perform better in the two-minute drill
Mike Carmin/Journal and Courier

Kamal Hardy could see action against Illinois, depending on Da'Wan Hunte's injury status

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Kamal Hardy (3) and the Purdue defense stop a Nebraska run Saturday, October 28, 2017, at Ross-Ade Stadium. Purdue lost a heartbreaker to Nebraska 25-24.(Photo: Eric Schlene for the Journal & C)Buy Photo

He wasn’t prepared prior to last week’s game against Nebraska, one the Boilermakers lost by one point after giving up a late touchdown pass with 14 seconds to play.

Hardy was inserted into the lineup at cornerback to start the second half. Starter Da’Wan Hunte re-aggravated a hip flexor strain he suffered the week before at Rutgers.

Hardy was the next man up but he wasn’t prepared. It’s on him. Nobody else. He didn’t have to share that piece of information but the senior offered it up.

“I wasn’t prepared, and I’m being honest with you,” Hardy said following Wednesday’s practice. “This week, I feel I’m really prepared. I’ve been watching a lot of film and that’s completely on me.

“Coach (Derrick) Jackson says all the time – ‘if you’re not starting, prepare like you’re a starter.’ That game taught me a valuable lesson from now on to prepare like I’m a starter and that’s what I’ve been doing.”

Hardy, who arrived from Monroe College in 2016, played the second half against the Huskers. He finished with eight tackles, in part because quarterback Tanner Lee started picking on the 5-foot-11 Hardy with Hunte out of the game.

“Who wouldn’t? Backup corner coming in and it’s a no-brainer — go after him,” said Hardy, who has appeared in six games this season and had an interception against Missouri. “I’m all for it. If you want to come at me, you can come at me. The corner position is one of the hardest positions and you’ve got to be prepared and ready and I’m prepared.”

Hunte’s status for Saturday’s game against Illinois at Ross-Ade Stadium remains unclear. He hasn’t practiced this week, but the coaching staff trusts Hunte to study film along with undergoing treatments on his hip.

Here’s the question: Does the coaching staff now trust Hardy if he’s needed this week?

Overall, it was a learning experience for Hardy, on and off the field.

“He needs to learn from that and get a whole lot better, and I think he will,” co-defensive coordinator Nick Holt said. “I think he sees it. You hope that’s the case. As coaches, that’s what we need to do and motivate them and teach them. I think he will. He’s done some good things.”

Hunte update

The Miami native called his hip flexor “something minor” and considers himself day-to-day.

“I’m getting better and we’ll see come Saturday,” Hunte said. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish the last game. It was bothering me too much. I tried to come out at halftime and warm it up and it didn’t work.”

Next time

What was Holt’s biggest takeaway from Nebraska’s game-winning drive, capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass?

“I think our approach was the right approach in the circumstances that we were dealt with at that time,” Holt said. “Everything was right — we’ve got to make the tackles and keep them in bounds and it’s not really an issue, quite honestly. They run out of time. That was the biggest thing.

"We addressed that and we’ve got to make sure that we're doing things correctly in the heat of the moment, it’s chaos, which is the two-minute drill. It’s chaos and you want to be good at it.”

The Huskers drove 70 yards in seven plays, starting the drive with 1:22 to play.

“We let them have a little more clock than what we should have,” Holt said. “We’ll learn from it. Our guys understand and we addressed it and we'll work at it and get better at it. The next time it comes around, we finish it off and do things right and get the win.”

Encouraged

While Purdue is averaging just 15 points in the last three games after averaging nearly 30 in the first five, quarterback David Blough remains optimistic about the offense.

Yes, passes were dropped again, missing opportunities at big plays. But Blough saw his receivers were beating man coverage, a problem throughout most of the season, and creating separation.

“They were running hard, they were running good routes, beating man coverage, which we’ve struggled with a little bit in the past,” Blough said. “Those guys were getting open and I had a couple of inaccurate throws.

“You watch the tape, there’s not many sacks. The O-line played pretty well at times and I wasn’t on the ground at all.”